I will be heading to St. Louis to rub elbows with some of the top financial bloggers in the world sporting a cheesy smile on my face every step of the way.

This year it is even more exciting because I get the opportunity to speak again.

Last year my topic is “How to use video to rock your brand“.

This year, I’m my talk is titled “How I Got Dumped by Google and Still Managed to Get 5 Million Visitors to My Blog (and lived happily ever after)“.

Assuming that many of the attendees haven’t been there for a while, I thought it would be appropriate to have a post that gave a closer look of who Jeff Rose really is.

So hold on, here are 12 things that you might not know about me:

1. 9 Years in the Army National Guard.

Back in 1997, I was literally going nowhere in my life and I needed something to give me a swift kick in the butt. Since my mom is Filipino and only 4’11”, she can’t even reach my butt, so I had to seek an alternative.

The obvious choice was the military.

I enlisted, shipped off to boot camp, got my head shaved, and became an Army Infantryman.

Overall, I spent nine years in, did a tour in Iraq and retired with the rank of Staff Sergeant.

I still feel compelled to use the Army cry “Hooah!” every once in a while and, if you are ever next to me on an extended run, there is a chance I might sing some cadence.

2. Extra, extra, yes, that’s me in the background.

I was in Hollywood. Well, kinda…..

One of the coolest, yet lowest paid, jobs I ever had in my life was being an extra on various TV shows and a few movies.

I was in the background of TV shows such as Beverly Hills 90210. I remember one set where Jennie Garth was freaking out on the make-up lady because the make-up she had applied made her skin orange.

I got a chuckle out of that one.

On Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, I actually got a chance to play hacky sack with Melissa Joan Hart and the rest of the cast.

I was on Boy Meets World and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I remember talking to Alison Hanigan at the craft table, at the time, not knowing that she was one of the main stars of the show. Woops.

The movie Father’s Day with Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. Robin Williams is one of the coolest dudes ever. He went around talking to everybody giving the “Nanu, Nanu” from Mork and Mindy. If you have no idea what that means, Google it. 🙂

I was only minimum wage, but it was the easiest job I ever had and definitely commanded some great bragging rights.

3. HUGE In-N-Out Burger fan.

My mom currently lives in Las Vegas and every chance I go to visit her my first stop is not her house, absolutely not, my first stop is In-N-Out Burger for two, sometimes three cheeseburgers – no onions, fries, a milkshake and a Coke.

It might be somewhere in the neighborhood of 3000 calories, but I don’t care because I crave it.

I now live in the Midwest and have to settle for Five Guys, some actually claim Five Guys is better; they are of course delirious and should seek medical attention immediately.

4. I like to cut a rug….

Whenever I was in junior high school I remember watching the Grind on MTV and craved to be a good dancer. Well that never really happened, but that didn’t stop me from getting out on the dance floor. Even in my mid-30’s, I still like to break down any chance I can.

Below is a video clip from a recent wedding reception where me and the missus were breaking it down.

#noshame

5. I’ve been married twice…..to the same woman!

Here is a funnier twist to that comment; the first time was in Vegas. As they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, well maybe not quite. The short story is that I had planned to propose to my wife sometime in 2005. Then I ended up getting orders that my National Guard unit was being deployed to Iraq. That put a fast forward on the engagement, so I ended up proposing on Halloween, as I was dressed as the Tin Man and she was Dorothy.

We more or less eloped as we went to go visit my mom, who (as mentioned above) lives in Las Vegas, so we thought it was only appropriate to get married while we were there. We did so with the understanding that once I returned home safely from Iraq that we would have a bigger ceremony with a reception to renew our vows.

Sure enough we said I do not only in the State of Nevada, but also the State of Illinois. It made me wonder which anniversary we celebrate, and initially we planned on celebrating both until our first son happened to be born on the exact same day as the second ceremony.

Trying to explain to our son that we need to celebrate our wedding anniversary rather than his birthday doesn’t carry much weight, so now his birthday wins and our first wedding date is the anniversary.

6. My three sons + 1

My wife and I have been blessed to have three healthy, young boys, who I think could compete in WWE Wrestling matches right now. They bring a lot of fun and a lot of stress, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Most parents think we are looney for having three kids but, we decided three wasn’t crazy enough so we are adding a fourth. But #4 comes with a little twist.

My wife had the neat idea of adopting a child from the Philippines, and with the Philippines being in my blood, I took to the idea. We began the process of adopting and will hopefully have a new child in the next year or two. You can read more about the adoption process on my wife’s blog.

7. Garfield, man’s best friend.

Every kid has their favorite stuffed animal that goes everywhere with them; wait, was I the only one? When I was 3 or 4, my father bought me a stuffed Garfield at the local grocery store and he became my little buddy. See adorably cute picture below.

I had Garfield up until I was literally in college and I know that he is still around somewhere in the basement; I still love that little guy.

8. Jan who?

The one thing that I never understood about my parents was the name that they gave me. Most people know me as Jeff, but if you saw one of my business cards, you would see that I have the initial J before my name. For some reason unbeknownst to me, my parents named me Jan; yes, Jan Jeffrey Rose is my legal name.

As a child, I was called J.J. (notice the birthday pic below).

I don’t know why they named me Jan; I have never been called Jan, but yet that is my legal name. All I know is that I thoroughly enjoy when people refer to me or call me asking for Mrs. Jan Rose. NOT!

9. 6 foot and wear size 13 shoe

If you get a chance to see me in person, you will see that I am 6 foot, have a decent build and wear a size 13 shoe. That might not be that unique, but you have to realize where I came from. My father was 5’9” and wore a size 10 1/2. What makes my build even more impressive is that my mom is 4’11” and buys her shoes in the kiddy department.

Note: She usually buys the Sketchers that have the really large sole to make her appear like she is 5’2”.

All I know is that I feel blessed that I’m not 5’6”, 160 lbs. When I meet a lot of my Filipino cousins, I really look like Andre the Giant compared to all of them.

10. Super Size That?

It’s definitely not as cool as being an extra on TV shows, but one of the first jobs I ever had was working at McDonald’s. In looking back, I have no idea why I put myself through that misery, but I kind of enjoyed it because I needed the money.

One of my favorite memories was an older lady ordering a chicken fa-ji-da. I had to ask her again, “I’m sorry, what did you want?” She is like, “you know, a chicken fa-ji-da.” It took me a moment to realize oh, fajita, got it. Just another fine example of living in the Midwest.

11. Obsessed with G.I. Joe’s

My dad used to be spoil me and buy me every single G.I. Joe I ever wanted. Trust me, I didn’t complain!

I had (multiple) Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander, and the giant 6 foot aircraft carrier. I remember even taking a family picture where I was holding a G.I. Joe.

Have I lost that loving feeling? Now in my mid-30’s, absolutely not! In fact, the picture you see below is the 25th anniversary G.I. Joe that I just bought last year.

I will say it was awkward when I told my 6 year old son that he couldn’t play with daddy’s new G.I. Joe.

12. No Way Jose!

As my obsession of G.I. Joe’s wore off some, I found a new obsession – baseball cards. This was a time when Jose Canseco was huge and as a kid he became my hero. How was that for a horrible pick for a role model? Geesh….

When I first started collecting cards I made it a mission to get EVERY single Canseco card I could find. At that last count I had over 520 different Jose Canseco cards. My dad used to tell me that they would be worth a pretty penny.

"Rose is particularly good in explaining how to establish and keep good credit; the need for having clear, specific financial goals; how to learn from your mistakes when you go off track; and the best ways to eliminate debt."
-New York Times

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